Shan named as Burmese officer

No.06 - 2/2007
13 February 2007
General
 
Shan named as Burmese officer
 
A retired Shan resistance officer has been selected by the film crew shooting Rambo IV: In the Serpent's Eye, starred and directed by Sylvester Stallone, to play the role of a barbarous Burmese commander, reports Hawkeye:
 

Sai Mawng, 40, a native of Namkham, who used to serve with Lt-Col Khun Kyaw, Commander of the Shan State Army (SSA) South's 241st Brigade, currently languishing in a Burmese prison, after being forced to surrender in January 2006, was chosen from among 2-300 applicants, said one of his close friends. "He speaks Burmese fluently and looks nasty enough," he added. "He'll be shot in the head towards the end of the movie."
 
The film crew had been looking for a "Burmese male, 32-40, military-looking man, character face, unlikable," according to its wanted announcement.
 
The film is being shot in Keudchang, a village tract in Mae Tang, 30 km north of Chiangmai, since 27 January, according to Khao Sod, a local newspaper.
 
Apart from Sai Mawng, many Shan migrants have offered themselves to play as Burmese soldiers in exchange for 300 baht ($ 8.6) per day plus meals for 2 months.
 
According to the story line posted by the film crew, Rambo is hired by Christian missionaries while working as a snake hunter in Thailand to deliver medical and religious supplies to the persecuted Karens of Burma. The missionaries are captured and Rambo is saddled with the job of rescuing the surviving missionaries.